It’s been six years since Apple delivered the revolutionary, secure Face ID with iPhone X in 2017, but it’s never made its way to Macs (despite the pointless, ridiculous, just plain awful, and, now, with Dynamic Island (better), anachronistic Inelegant Kludge™ (notch) infecting Apple’s MacBook lines).
Alan Martin for Evening Standard:
For some reason, the facial authentication hardware has yet to be adopted by the company’s MacBook line. But that looks as if it could change soon, with a new patent outlining how Apple would introduce the technology to its laptop and desktop computers.
The patent, catchily titled Light Recognition Module for Determining a User of a Computing Device, outlines the nuts and bolts. And while the words “Face ID” don’t show up once, it is essentially the same result: you can prove your identity with your face, rather than a password or fingerprint.
The patent describes the system as using a “light pattern recognition module that may be incorporated within a computing device”. It would be neatly tucked into a “notch, a circle, an ellipse, a polygonal shape, a series of polygonal shapes, a curvilinear shape or the like”.
MacDailyNews Take: Who wants Face ID on Macs (and, at least, finally give the MacBooks’ abjectly stupid notch a raison d’être)?
Behold the Apple exec who approved polluting the Mac baselessly with iPhone’s notch, Apple’s most inelegant design decision ever (yes, including the hockey puck mouse):
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I’d prefer Face ID to Touch ID on my MacBook Pro, though I mostly have it in clamshell mode. What they need is an alternative to having to manually enter my password when it’s in clamshell. Why not my Apple Watch which already unlocks my MacBook? Or Face ID on my iPhone which is already used to confirm Apple Pay purchases started on my Mac?
I would love to have Face ID on my MacBook. I just hope Apple doesn’t limit it to just the Pro models as they do with the iPads.
As many couples share their home computer, it would have to be (at least) a two-faced computer.
I don’t understand Apple’s obsession with removing bezels on Macs (on handheld devices, of course it makes sense). I love my 24″ iMac, but really wish it had a black border, instead of the white border (but still with an annoyingly thin back border) that ‘seamlessly blends in with the background of most homes’ (according to Apple).
I would prefer an eSIM tied into the Secure Enclave,
so Devices can be tracked & remotely wiped
as well as getting MU-MIMO Data Connectivity.
Dynamic island objectively sucks more than notch. MDN is railing wrong here. The thin part of pixels above the dynamic island are never used for anything. So the island ends up wasting more space than the notch. All the animations of the island could be used in the notch without wasting as much space.
The hilarious thing is the Mac has a notch but no Face ID but has Touch ID. No consistency across devices and the notch needs to die a fast death it’s horrible.
Apple had very thin bezels over 20 years ago: it was the Titanium PowerBook. To this day, that laptop still looks like it’s from the future.
Kill the notch, have technology that can do Face ID within a very thin bezel without the need for a notch.
Agreed on the Titanium Power Book, I bought the world’s first 17″ on Day One. No need for a HIDEOUS notch or changeling island walking over your content. Apple can incorporate the camera off the main screen as they did before, heck, they can design anything. Make the Mac Screen Great AGAIN!
I detect something deeper: DECITFUL RUSE and EXCUSE to introduce Face ID, again, where is not needed simply to justify NOT REMOVING the notch no one wants. Fingerprint ID is superior does not change for the most part unlike your face with age, weight gain, beard, wrinkles, loss of hair…etc.
Upgraded to the latest iPhone and enabled Face ID for the first time missing the home fingerprint button. Roughly half the time does not work and forced to type in 5-digit passcode. Awful in low light situations like a darkened room watching TCM “Summer Under The Stars” or wearing hats. Raise and lower, raise and lower again, give up and type in passcode. Boy, do I miss the faster discreet fingerprint touch!…
Using both touch ID and Face ID on Windows, I find Face ID is a nice touch, but it can be more annoying when locked, if you are not facing the computer (such as a laptop turned sideways). So in the end, both are completely acceptable to me.